Things We Shouldn't Forget
by Dark Spectre
Summary: Post Season 6 Fic *Chapter 5 Up* - In England Willow trys to work through her pain and addiction with the aid of Giles and a local Coven, whilst Xander falls prey to a seductive new power in Sunnydale (Please R&R, is Appreciated!)
1. Prologue

TITLE: Things We Shouldn't Forget (This is only an introduction)

DISCLAIMER: This is the Buffy Verse solely owned by the ol' mighty Joss Whedon, I do not claim to own any of these characters yada yada yada

RATING: PG

SPOILERS: Pretty Much Everything! It's set straight after season 6. Willow and Giles are in England whilst the rest of them try to get on with there normal lives back home. But im playing the Willow card different, she still has some power left. She not completely drained like she was at the end of Grave. Also, Spike has not yet returned from Africa and will not do during this fic.

Willow sat quietly perched on the end of a bed whilst the sound of news reporters blurred out in the background. She wasn't really listening but she just needed for the voices to be there as a way of calming her down Five days had passed since Xander had stopped her on Kingmans Bluff. She felt awkward now; travelling to England had been difficult. Sitting on the plane like a normal person, watching as the ordinary people went about their lives. She use to be ordinary once, that felt like a lifetime ago now. It was like a distant memory, you can recall it but you don't remember exactly what it was like. She'll probably never be ordinary again, ever since Buffy things had been a rollercoaster ride of action and emotion. There was never regret, until now.

"An amazing discover was made yesterday, but with it came a price." Willow eyes became infixed on the Television screen, she concentrated on every word to give herself something to do, a way of blocking out unpleasant thoughts. "Believed to be Babylonian in origin it is held as one of the greatest discoveries of this century." Willow put her hands together in her lap and continued to listen. "Three archaeologists were found dead at the entrance of this long forgotten tomb, it is unknown at this time why these unfortunate deaths occurred."

A knock sent Willows concentration off and as her head snapped quickly to see who was at the door the knocking was followed by a loud bang and the crackling off energy. Giles peered in through the doorway to spot Willow sat on the bed and across from her lay the TV set with a cracked screen and smoke rising from it. The faintest crackling of energy emerged from it before dissipating. Turning his attention to Willow he noticed she began to sob. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean too." She brought her hands to her face as the tears began to fall." Giles moved slowly by her side and place himself on the bed next to her. "Its ok, we both know your recovery is going to be a long gruelling task and there are going to be times when things like this happen. Your body is trying to free itself off deep mystical energies and sometimes it just can't stay bottled up." He looked at her solemn face, the guilt etched across it was evident and Giles knew at any moment she could be overwhelmed with power and lose the one spark of humanity that Xander lit within her. "Are you ready to meet with them?" Giles looked at her kindly with his best comfiting smile. She turned to him trying to make it through the tears but she didn't say a word.

"Buffy down!" Dawn screamed as loud as she could and let go of the small knife that was firmly held in her palm. It flew through the air but as usual missed by a mile and struck the side of a nearby tree. "Ok, need to stop doing that." Before she could even react she was swung round and then on to the ground, flying over a tombstone she scrambled and then looked up for a weapon. Just ahead of her she could see her sister fighting two vamps and on the floor not far away laid an axe. "Gotcha." Springing upwards she leapt forward. Picking up the pace she lifted the axe with both hands. Turning she saw her own attacked in close pursuit. "That's right sharp teeth, Dawns gonna give you some." She paused for a moment and thought about what she had just said. The vampire charged and she swung the axe wide and missed. "Ok check, learn to pun… and fight" 

Buffy jumped up and swiftly kicked one of the vamps in the jaw, the vamp reeled backwards giving her enough time to attack the other. Gripping her stake in one hand she charged at the other vamp, grabbing him by the arm she yanked him forward. Kneeing him in the stomach she raised the stake high for a quick follow up. "Another one bits the dust." Throwing her arm down with force she caught the vamp in the chest and as the stake pushed through his skin and into his heart he exploded into a million dust particles. Shooting around she cracked the first vamp in the knee and as he keeled over she grabbed his head with both hands and twisted his head with all her force. As the bones cracked she looked pleased with herself. Behind her she could hear her sister calling out for help. "Ok Dawn you ask to come on patrol and I train you but I always seem to be saving you." She cursed under her breath before running over and making quick work of the attacking vamp. Dawn stood in front of her panting and out of breath "I… was just… about… to do… that." Buffy nodded and then held out a hand to help her sister up off the ground.

"How many times have I told you not to throw knives? Your aim sucks!" Buffy chuckled as the two siblings walked slowly home. "Well yeah, but it does always seem to confuse them. They're like 'What's she doing?' that's always good right?" Buffy smiled but didn't say a word. Things were getting better; just these little moments with her sister really made her feel lucky. After the doom and gloom of the past year it was refreshing to have a little laughter breach her outer shell. Life in Sunnydale seemed to be slowly returning to normal, with Giles and Willow gone there was hardly anyone around. Xander always seemed to be there as always but he seemed more interested in winning Anya's affection back. So many people had gone. Her Mum, Tara and even Spike. At the moment she didn't want to lose anyone else and that's why these moments with Dawn were so precious. The two continued to joke as they moved on out of the graveyard.

A pair of eyes lay fixed on the two young women as they left. Nothing could be seen of this thing, not being able to tell who or what it was. Covered in black from head to toe it had the shape of a human. Not saying a word it turned and seemed to walk into a mist that appeared before it. The only thing it left behind was a gentle hissing and then it was gone.


	2. First Meetings

Willow walked slowly with Giles by her side, she hadn't said a word since that incident with the Television, she found that it was best not to say anything. She wrapped her coat tight around her, as she still wasn't use to the bitter weather of the UK. She didn't know exactly where she was going but she knew whom she was going to see. Giles had wanted to take her straight away but she had refused until now. The coven that had imbued him with power were eager to meet with them, it appeared that they were just as worried of her slipping with Magic as much as Giles was. 

From what Willow could see they were in the middle of no where. Giles had driven them out into the countryside for about thirty minutes but they had then proceeded to leave the car behind and go on by foot. Willow was worried; she didn't have any idea how these people were going to receive her. As the duo traversed the next hill Willow set her eyes upon a circle of shadows cast upon a stone surface. Giles raised his arm signalling for them both to stop. Willow stopped but didn't turn to look at him; the fine breeze swept her hair across her face and did even more to conceal her feelings. "Be careful in your speaking with the coven, they are unlike anyone you have come across before. They may look like us but don't be fooled by appearances, they hold unspeakable power." 

Willow took a deep breath before the two continued. Moving towards the coven circle Willow noticed Giles slow down and move aside. She knew she had to continue, this was just something she would have to do alone. As she approached a gap appeared in the circle of bodies stood in silence, giving her time to pass through the gap the circle was then once again completed. Willow kept her eyes focused on the ground, but from time to time she glanced up. She did not see the sparkling of an eye or the wicked grin of a monstrous face; in fact she didn't see anything. All of the figures stood hooded, palms clasped together in front of them they stood like stone. "Do not fear us Child, we are here to help you." What appeared to be the head of the coven stepped forward, what was about to happen next Willow did not know.

Xander smoothed down the piece of wood set in front of him. Xander always enjoyed crafting things from wood it was one of the only times that he was truly in control. He paused for a second and looked up at the Magic Box. It looked completely different now, the second level was gone and the entire floor plan had been redesigned. It had been a tiring job but it had come as a request from Anya and at this time he was willing to do anything that got him back in her good graces. As Xander continued with his work his mind wandered to thoughts of Willow, saving her on Kingmans Bluff had been one of the toughest tasks that he had ever been through. He was thankful that he had broken through at the last moment and it was all owed to a crayon. Smiling he didn't notice Anya transport in behind him. "Oh my God Xander!" 

Xander spun upon hearing Anya shriek behind him. "Jeez Anya, how many times have I told you not to do that?" She gave him one of her quick cheesy grins before walking around the Magic Box. "This looks amazing! Thank you Xander." For once Anya was being sincere, he knew that the Magic Box was one of the only things that was keeping her here and if it took up all of his time fixing it up then so be it. Anya continued to peruse the new shelves and then stopped. "I think we need magical proofing." Xander stared at her blankly unsure of what she meant. "Because the next time someone goes crazy I don't want the Magic Box being a prime target." She noticed Xander looking down and figured she'd hit a sore nerve. "And… And…" She quickly backtracked. "A bigger cash register! For lots of cash." 

As the two occupants of the magic box laughed they didn't noticed a tall slender figure standing at the doorway. Standing tall her long black hair waved in the breeze, her eyes hinting with a lost light. Clothes tightly hugged around her body she wore a small low cut top that showed off ample cleavage, the lines of her face appearing young although filled with intense wisdom. Her entire body seemed seductive just in her stand. Moved in slowly, grabbing the attention of both Xander and Anya. Her walk was seductive and with her movements Xander seemed almost hypnotised. "How can I hold?" Anya turned to look at him disapprovingly. "I mean help, help. How can we help you." Xander turned away breaking his stare from the young woman.

"I'm sorry we're close, get out." Anya stated simply. Xander coughed as the usual sign to tell Anya that she did something wrong, though this time she didn't seem to care. "Come back next week."

"I'm sorry, it's just that the door was open." Anya glared but didn't say anything. "I'm new here, Sunnydale's quite the place. Like none other." Even though declined an invitation the young woman continued to move further into the shop. Xander was continually looking at her although he tried not to. Something was drawing his eyes upwards. "I love all of this magic stuff, hocus pocus." She was gentle spoken but firm and her words seemed laced with mocking. "Things have changed, I like it."

"I could so take you." The electric atmosphere was broken as Dawn and Buffy entered the Magic Box. Once again the two seemed to be playfully arguing. "I don't think so, I'm the slayer. Don't kid yourself." They two took in the new layout of the Magic Box quickly and then proceeded to go and sit by Xander. "There you go, throwing that Slayer thing in my face." Xander then turned from them. "So what's your name?" As he looked around for the woman she was no longer present. "Where'd she go." As Xander and Anya looked around frantically Buffy and Dawn sat confused. As the four stayed in silence the sound of the training room door creaked as it swung backwards.


	3. Rememberence

"I'm telling you Buffy, there was someone there." Xander had to quicken up the pace as Buffy sped up in front of him, entering the first Sunnydale cemetery of the night. It had been a while since he had been on patrols with her and he'd forgotten that you had to keep up or stay home. "She was gorgeous." Buffy stopped and turned to look at her friend, she'd heard him repeat that same thing at least a dozen times. Maybe she had him under a spell? Wait no it was Xander, all he thinks about is sex. No matter how much older he gets he'll always be the same to Buffy.

Buffy decided to change the subject back to some familiar territory. "So how are thing with you and Anya?" Xander stayed quiet for second before responding, telling Buffy that things were pretty much the same as they had been since the World didn't end. 

Once again from afar a pair of eyes glowed in the distance, locked on to the Slayer with deadly intent. The face only covered over with a shadowed veil still let through the look of a wicked smile. "Let's see how strong you are, pretty girl." The figure began to chant in an unrecognisable language, the dialect was old and seemed almost forgotten. It pierced the air with a silent hum, a cry that had not been heard in centuries. The ground beneath began to shake ever so slightly, hardly noticeable. The figure held out its arms and as it did two snakes slithered their way down its body before shooting into the ground with force. A violent hiss erupted but then there was silence.

"At one point I thought she was going to leave but I've begun to realise that…" Buffy froze, and slowly scanned the area. She held up a hand behind her to show Xander to be quiet and for him not to move. Xander quickly obliged and wondered what Buffy had sensed. "Did you hear that?" Slowly creeping forward Buffy made her way through the gravestones in a zig zag pattern, crossing diagonally to where their watcher had been standing. "I don't think we're alone, I felt it when I was out with Dawn too." But her attention was soon drawn elsewhere as she saw two figures hobbling towards them. "Great." Buffy said silently before drawing a stake out from under her coat. "Xander heads up" She pointed towards their attackers, but there was something weird about them they were moving far too slowly compared to the normal hack and slash demons she was use to facing.

As Xander pulled out a stake also he heard dirt erupting from the ground behind him as he turned he found a body clawing itself out of a grave. "Err… Buffy." But she was more worried about the first two attackers. On approaching them she saw disfigured faces and rotten clothing. It was far from the normal vampire attire, but maybe they had just risen. Charging at them with force she jumped with arms stretched out knocking both aggressors to the hard muddy ground of the graveyard. Xander on the other hand was having much more trouble but with only one, as the corpse had slowly pulled itself upwards it had scrambled to his feet and set its sights on Xander. Swinging a punch at it seemed to have no affect, the first time he missed and the second he hurt his hand. He swung round looking for help from Buffy. 

Buffy rolled back and pushed herself up right with her hands. She caught the sight of her two attackers still coming. She gave a roundhouse kick to one of their faces, but it only seemed momentarily stunned. From what Buffy could tell the two she was fighting both seemed to be male but it was hard to tell through all the dirt and rotten flesh. She decided to take her chances and bound towards the two and thrust the stake into the first ones chest as far as she could. There was a terrible sound of tearing flesh as blood began to ooze from the wound caused by the stake. Buffy smiled but as she looked up the inhuman face of her attacked screeched loud causing her to move back with haste. Her stake still protruding from its body, Buffy seemed bewildered. "Xander they're not vampires!" As she shouted out to him her other attack grabbed hold of her arm pulling her stunned body back towards the two.

"Yeah, I got that." His attacker had tried to grab hold of him many times and all Xander had managed to do was push him back. "But Buffy…" Xander looked round at the graveyard. "We have bigger problems." The foul stench of death filled the air as more of the same foes littered the grounds and as they spoke even more were raising from their graves.

Willow dare not look up at the shadowy figure that now stood in front of her. She seemed petrified though she had no real reason to be. She'd faced countless numbers of demons and hell beasts in Sunnydale, why should she be afraid of someone who is trying to help her. "To begin your recovery process, you must first find your centre. The place where you feel safe. It is only then that we can begin to help with your craving of the dark magic's and of power.

Willow was confused, her centre? What does that mean? She hadn't noticed at first but the leader seemed to be holding a staff by his side, she could have sworn it wasn't there a minute ago. The cloaked figures around her in the circle still hadn't moved or said a word. They all seemed to be in perfect harmony with each other. "We must begin." She heard the words but she wasn't quite expecting what happened next. The leader's staff cracked down on the cold surface beneath them and as he did a pentagram appeared sparkling with light on the stone surface. Willow looked down and noticed she was in the exact middle and she became increasingly afraid of the following seconds. The others members of the coven began to chant low and deep, one voice was not recognisable above the rest they were completely in sync with each other.

The coven seemed to pull down their hoods all at the same time, but there were no faces there was just a magnificent light that appeared from each. As Willow looked forward she seemed to be completely content to stay in that moment forever. The leader of the coven's hood fell down and as it did Willow was shocked into disbelief. "It can't be." She stood cold unable to move or say a word. "Baby?" Her voice almost a whisper as her eyes traced down the lines of her lover as Tara stood before her with a smile on her lips.


	4. Rest

Willow began to stir as the light from passing streets lamps began to dance in the window and across her face. Staying completely still she was stunned at where she now was, things had happened so quickly she hadn't taken it in very well. She felt her cheeks were stained with tears and her body seemed drained, hardly having the energy to move at all. Turning her head ever so slightly she began to realise that she was once again sat in the passenger seat of Giles car. The passenger side's window was slightly open and the cool breeze flowed in sending a shiver down her spine. Was it all a dream? She tried to speak but sound came from her lips. Giles now aware that she was awake turned to look at her with a gentle smile; he placed a hand on her knee as a friendly gesture to let her know everything was okay. Turning away from him Willow set her focus on the cars travelling in the opposite direction on the other side of the road. It seemed strange to her how different countries drove on opposite sides of the road, make a lot more sense for everyone to do everything the same. That thought brought back memories of her high school days, when everything she did would be structured. All ideas thought out and planned, she couldn't remember the last time when things had been like that.

"What happened." Words were finally emitted from her mouth, though they sounded weak and fragile. Raising her hand to her face she brushed the hair away from her eyes as it gently swayed with the breeze. Giles seemed hesitant; many minutes had passed before he even attempted to answer her question. But as he was about to speak Willow interrupted him. "I saw Tara." These words came out firmer but also there seemed to be emotion fuelling them. "Was it a dream?"

"What you saw, I honestly do now know. But I can tell you that it was no dream." Giles hands were firmly clasped on the steering wheel now, he occasionally turned to see if Willow was okay but his main attention was that of the road. "You passed out whilst meeting with the coven. Now I'm taking you home to get some rest." Giles face was that of general concern, when he had seen her faint whilst in meeting with coven he wondered if it had all been too much, too soon. He knew Willow was guilt ridden and wanted to work through her pain but it was not a good idea if it was only going to hurt her more. Seeing Tara might just push her over the edge once again. Giles didn't know exactly what happened in the exchange between Willow and the Coven leader but it was powerful, he could tell that for certain.

Willow hadn't really taken in Giles response; her eyes once again followed the fast moving images of the cars as the passed like blurs. "Tara." Willow spoke so softly even she could hardly hear it. The car kept ever onwards, back to Giles apartment as silence once again befell its occupants.

Buffy pulled back again and again as her attackers constantly pulled forwards trying to hook on to her. "Stay back." She jumped up and firmly planted a kick on the closest ones chest; she didn't even seem to be able to stun them. They kept coming back for more and more. She looked around and noticed that Xander was in the same situation, he threw out a couple of punches and then tried to warn them back. The graveyard was full of bodies, that was about all you could call them. They were dead, but they weren't like vampires. From above the graveyard actually looked as though it was crawling, as there had to be at least a hundred of them by now. Buffy couldn't do anything to stop them and they were coming at her from all sides. She was lost and she didn't know what to do, it's at times like these that she call on Willow for a spell or she'd ask Giles to come up with a well formed plan. But this time she was going to have to rely on herself.

Running she jumped up and used one of the gravestones to catapult herself into the air. Landing softly she grabbed the nearest body and slammed its head down on to her knee. Falling to the floor for a brief second she quickly tried to make her way through the crowd towards Xander. He wasn't doing to good at this point; three of them had hold of his arms and were pulling him down. "Xander." She called out to him but there was no response, she wasn't surprised due to the mass of bodies that now surrounded him. Now charging she saw them begin to claw at his skin, there moans were horrifying and Buffy chose just to ignore them. Upon reaching her friend she pulled the first aggressor away and threw him as far as she could. The body didn't go far but it was enough. She swung her fist at the next but as she did she received a sharp blow to the back. Falling forward onto her knees she then felt a pair of teeth clamp down onto her flesh, it wasn't long before warm blood began to trickle down her arm. She held back the pain and gathered her strength. Pushing upwards with her legs the bodies surrounding her fell back. Then without any warning there came a loud cry and the ground shook for the second time that night.

The smell of rotten corpses and the unworldly groans stopped in an instant as the entire mob of enemies became dust and gently rode away on a passing breeze. Buffy stayed knelt down for a moment, her breathing was hard and the wound on her arm was quite deep. Placing a hand on it to stop the blood she rose from the floor. "Xander are you okay?"

"I'll live." Xander seemed to be even worse of then Buffy. Several wounds on his arms were bloody and there was even a gash on the back of his neck. He turned his head to look at his friend as she held out her hand. "Heck of a night."


	5. Things Revealed

Whilst Giles rambled on about supernatural occurrences on the other end of the line Buffy thought it was a prime opportunity to change the bandage on her arm. Unravelling the existing one careful she noticed that the bite mark wound had already begun to heal. "Just another perk of being the slayer" She smiled and then was caught off guard as Giles quickly asked her what she just said. She knew it wasn't good to interrupt him when he was giving one of his demon, magic, and monster speeches. "I didn't say anything." She quickly chirped in before resuming the changing of her bandage.

"I'm going to Janice's" Dawn bounded down the stairs quickly and then head for the door. She turned to look at her sister and smiled. "Are we patrolling tonight?" She was thoroughly disappointed when the answer Buffy gave was simply. "No." Dawn new it was best not to argue with her now, sure they had there differences in the past but Buffy let her do almost anything these days and it was best not to anger her. With a quick turn she said Goodbye and then shot out the door.

Giles who was still on the other end of the line, to what Buffy was still not listening, heard talking on the other end of the line and decided to give up. "Buffy, you haven't listened to a word I said. Have you?" Buffy had now finished swapping bandages and was doodling on a nearby piece of paper. 

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Willow looked at her lover and a huge grin came over her face. Everything was coming into place, her and Tara were back together, she was off the magic's and she really felt like the Scooby gang was pulling together after all of their problems. The days just seemed to be getting better. But soon it was all taken away, shots were fired, glass cracked. Tara's body slumped to the floor. Lives came to an end.

Willow awoke with a start; her body was clammy and cold with sweat. Wiping her brow she didn't even realise that she was breathing rapidly. The nightmares never seemed to go away. Whether they were of Tara's death or of what she had done to Warren the recent events haunted her. Getting up off the bed she moved over to the window, pulling the curtain aside she peered out and looked out at the people going about there everyday lives. She wished that was her, she wished she was part of the crowd. But the fact still remained that she was different. That's how it had always been, ever since High School.

"Buffy, you haven't listened to a word I said. Have you?" Giles moved past his frustration and then told Buffy to call him back when she had more clues on the latest evil that was bothering the people of Sunnydale. He had written down what brief facts she could give him but it wasn't much to go on. Placing the receiver down he was startled to see Willow standing not far behind him. "That was Buffy." Willow gave a slight nod and smile at hearing her name, as the good times played in her head. "She asked of you, but you were sleeping and I didn't want to wake you."

Willow sighed and then perched herself on the edge of a nearby chair. "I want to meet with the coven again, now." Giles could see in her eyes that this was something that she really wanted to do. "I have to know, about Tara."

Xander slowly made his way through the streets of Sunnydale towards the Magic Box. Another day of hard work lay ahead of him even though he wasn't in the best condition after the fight that had occurred just the other night. His arms and neck were sore and his whole body ached. "The dead just don't like to stay dead in this town." Xander thought. 

Making his way down Main Street he was surprised to see the dark haired woman that had made an appearance in the Magic Box. Standing outside of the Sun cinema she seemed to be waiting for something. Her hair flowing freely about her shoulders she stood completely still. Xander quickly made his way across the street just in case she decided to take off again. "Hey, there." Raising an arm to wave at her she gave a pleasant smile in return. Though something seemed off about this chance meeting. It was although she had been waiting for him, but how did she know that he was going to be there?

"You shot off before we had a chance to talk the other day." Xander moved closer as the young woman looked to scan him up and down. "I'm Xander" He held out his hand but she didn't take it, in fact she didn't respond at all she still seemed to be studying him. "So.." Xander tried to move the conversation along. "Have you lived in Sunnydale before? It's just that you said things have changed."

"Lets have coffee." Cutting Xander off abruptly the young woman smiled and then started off down the street towards the Espresso Pump. Watching her depart Xander shot a glance at his watch, he didn't really have time to have coffee. He had promised Anya that he would start working on the Magic Box early and he didn't really want to make any more promises he made to her. Anya was really pushing for the grand re-opening in a couple of days and there was no way that could happen if Xander didn't finish of all the structural work. After running it through his mind a couple of times he finally decided to follow the young woman.

"Ten minutes won't hurt." Following close behind, the two then sat down in the Espresso Pump. At first Xander seemed nervous almost like he was back at High School just trying to get a girl to notice him. But the truth was he wasn't looking for a romantic relationship so why was he even say there? Questions began to run through his mind but he also had questions for the young woman now sat opposite him. "So, since you haven't disclosed anything about yourself why don't we start with your name?"

The dark haired woman smiled and then paused for a thought, the decision to tell him came quickly and she didn't see any harm in it. For what could he do? Or know? "They call me Lilith." Her eyes connected with Xander's as she waited for a response, but he said nothing. Bringing a smile to her lips she placed her right hand on top of his that lay on the table between them. "So how long have you lived here." Lilith once again ignored the question as she had greater things in mind.

Xander pulled his hand for underneath Lilith's and raised it to his forehead. A sharp pain had just hit him and it seemed to be growing in intensity. A high pitched noise rang in his ears and he became unable to focus. He could see the people in the Espresso Pump moving around him and it all became a blur. Motions seemed to speed up; he drew his attention to Lilith who was still sat in the exact position. He didn't have a clue what was happening to him, he tried to stand but he couldn't muster the strength to do so. "What's…" Before he could even finish his sentence he fell forward collapsing on to the table in front of him. His arm stretched out, dangling over the side.

"Hey, are you alright?" Xander eyes opened rapidly, his head resting on cold metal. Pushing himself upright with his hand he looked around to find he was still in the Espresso Pump. "Are you okay?" One of the other customers had come up to check if Xander was feeling okay. He nodded in reply and looked forward to see that Lilith had disappeared. He wondered if she might have been frightened when he had passed out, he thought that was the most reasonable explanation or just the best one he could come up with.

Getting to his feet he exited back onto Main Street and made the rest of the journey to the Magic Box slowly. Maybe the injuries he had sustained the other night had made a bigger impact on him then he had first thought. Taking the handle he slowly pushed the door to the Magic Box to find a very unhappy Anya. Standing with both hands on her waist she didn't seem to be in the best of moods. "An, something weird is going on here."

"Yeah that's right, you're late!" She wasn't just a little pissed off either. "Xander you said you were going to be here early, I can't open up if you don't finish." 

"Anya, I'm like what? Thirty minutes late? Calm down, I'll get it done." But she could tell by the look on his face that things weren't exactly right. "What? I'll stay longer." He tried to make his way over the table as he had a great need to get off his feet. "It's not a big deal." Anya stopped and scowled.

"You said you'd be here at ten am Xander! Its 2! Where have you been?" She saw the look on Xander's face, it was utter confusement. But she didn't believe it for a second. "This is just typical, don't make commitments that you're just going to ignore." He could tell she was channelling part of the wedding fiasco when she said this and before he had a chance to reply she teleported out in a whirl of mist and crackling energy.


End file.
